20,000 cast their votes to name new Forth crossing

TRANSPORT bosses delighted by 'phenomenal' repsonse to their appeal for public to choose bridge name from shortlist of five.

The third bridge in the shadow of the other two (Photo: Gordon Jack/www.scotimage.com)

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MORE than 20,000 votes have already been cast by members of the public in the poll to name the new Forth bridge.

The shortlist of potential names for the Forth Replacement Crossing was unveiled on Monday, prompting a "phenomenal" response from people keen to have their say.

Transport minister Keith Brown said the public's interest over the last few days has surpassed his expectations.

The possible names for the crossing, whittled down by a panel of judges, are Caledonia Bridge, Firth of Forth Crossing, Queensferry Crossing, Saltire Crossing and St Margaret's Crossing.

The final five-strong list was chosen after Transport Scotland received more than 7600 name suggestions for the large infrastructure project.

Revealing the latest tally of votes, Brown said: "There has been a phenomenal response to voting for the name of the Forth Replacement Crossing with over 20,000 votes cast since Monday.

"It is fantastic to see so many people getting involved in choosing the name and I hope that this continues.

"We know there is a huge interest in what is Scotland 's biggest infrastructure project in a generation, but the number coming forward over the past few days has surpassed our expectations."

Work on the new bridge started last year and is said to be on schedule to be completed by 2016.

People can place their vote by visiting http://www.namethebridge.co.uk or by texting "BRIDGE" followed by the letter of their preferred option: A (for Caledonia Bridge), B (Firth of Forth Crossing), C (Queensferry Crossing), D (Saltire Crossing) or E (St Margaret's Crossing).

The ballot will close at midnight on June 7 and the winning entry will be announced later that month.